Syrian Ceasefire Hangs in Balance as Rebels Reject Assad’s Conditions

Smoke rises from the Al Qusoor district of Homs on 8 April, 2012.Reuters

Hopes of a ceasefire in violence-torn Syria hangs in the balance as Syrian rebels have rejected the conditions set by the Assad regime.

In its last-minute demand, just two days ahead of the implementation of the ceasefire, the government called for written guarantees from the rebels to end violence and also assurances from foreign states to stop funding the rebels.

Bulk of the funding for the rebels is believed to be coming from countries such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

The ceasefire is due to come into effect on 10 April, but the latest demands by the Assad regime have put the whole peace plan in jeopardy.

The Syrian foreign ministry believes that without a written guarantee from the rebels, the government would only be giving time for the rebels to re-arm and re-organise themselves.

"To say that Syria will pull back its forces from towns on April 10 is inaccurate, Kofi Annan having not yet presented written guarantees on the acceptance by armed terrorist groups of a halt to all violence," the BBC reported the Syrian foreign ministry spokesperson as saying.

Rebel leaders are of the opinion that the latest demands by the Syrian authorities are a ploy to scuttle the peace plan.

Though the rebels are willing to go by the UN-Arab League truce, they are not ready for a direct deal with the Assad regime as the government troops continue their attack on civilians.

"We will present our guarantees and our commitments to the international community, but not to this (Syrian) regime," the AFP quoted the Free Syrian Army's Col Riyad al-Asaad as saying.

UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan called for an immediate end to violence in Syria and appealed to the Assad regime to honour its commitments.

"This is a time when we must all urgently work towards a full cessation of hostilities, providing the space for humanitarian access and creating the conditions for a political process," the BBC quoted Annan as saying.

Violence has spiked as the date for the ceasefire nears and images coming out of Syria showed smoke emanating from Homs buildings.

According to activists' estimates, at least 70 people were killed on Sunday taking the death toll to 180 people during the weekend.